Larry David - the new Woody?

Is newly-single Larry Davidhoping to share Javier Bardem's onscreen luck with the ladies? David, co-creator of Seinfeld and star of Curb Your Enthusiasm, has agreed to star in Woody Allen's next movie, to be shot in New York in the spring. Bardem is in the news, and making a lot middle-aged men cringe with jealousy, not because he's up for an Oscar for his role in No Country for Old Men, but because he reportedly gets to feature in a threesome with Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz in Allen's current film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The scene follows another scorcher, according to leaks from the set of the film, in which Scarlett and Cruz engage in a 'steamy lesbian sex scene'.

No details are available for the upcoming New York film, as yet untitled, but Entertainment Weekly reports that Larry David will appear opposite the young actress Evan Rachel Wood (above, with David, in our composite image). The movie marks Allen's return home after making three films in London (generally badly received) and one - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - in Spain. David, who's not known for his acting outside Curb, nevertheless appeared as a theatre manager in Allen's 'Oedipus Wrecks' segment of New York Stories in 1989.

David should probably avoid reading the latest blogs which, far from welcoming his first feature film lead, are assuming that his character will pine Woody-style for the young woman played by Evan Rachel Wood (above left), 40 years his junior. "Allen is done making movies in Europe," writes one blogger, "and is coming back to his stomping grounds of New York. And what movie does he plan to make? Why, one about a creepy older man having an affair with a young, hot woman! But there's a twist this time - Woody Allen won't be the creepy old man. Larry David will. Groan. You're better than this, Woody Allen!"